In Inverness

We arrived in Inverness, the Highlands, Scotland at 8:38 AM on Saturday, 10th August via the Caledonian Sleeper, as I'm sure you remember from the last post. The Budget rent-a-car place was just off the train station car park and we found it without difficulty.


We received a large Ford - model name we don't have in the US, but it think it was a close cousin to a Fusion. The car was a diesel and was manual transmission. I let Dad drive us the 14 miles to our hotel in Drumnadrochit - right on Loch Ness and home to two wonderful Monster-related tourist traps.


We stayed at the hotel adjoining the more "reputable" Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition - the Drumnadrochit Hotel.

Loch Ness, Inverness, Scotland - August 2013

 
The ride between Inverness and Drumnadrochit would have been spectacularly beautiful, but I was too busy yelling, "watch out for the ditch!" and "don't hit that cliff!" My Dad's normally a decent driver, but he was having trouble judging the clearance on the left side of the car. He was otherwise OK driving stick and staying to the left side of the road - and fortunately his judging skills improved over the course of a few car rides. I didn't even clench my teeth on the ride back to drop off the car on 11th August.

As you can see from the first few photos, the weather was bright and partly sunny in the AM.  As the day progressed, the weather devolved to a few brief showers by late afternoon. Fortunately, however, we opted to take a one-hour boat tour of Loch Ness at Noon, after having explored the exhibition centre and its many souvenir shops.

It was windy and chilly on the Loch, but we had warm company in the form of four German tourists, two French tourists, and a colorful local Scottish guide. We chatted and took photos over the course of the hour, while we enjoyed the views and kept a lookout for Nessie.

Then, there emerged from the depths of the Loch the head and neck of some sort of creature. "Could it be the monster?" I asked myself amazedly, while I snatched up my camera to capture the first definitive picture ever of the Monster:
What do you think? Did I capture a picture of Nessie?? I'm waiting for confirmation from the scientists, but they aren't returning my calls.

Our boat tour also took us to the ruins of Urquhart Castle, which began life in the 13th century and was in use until about 1700, when it was partially destroyed during the Jacobite troubles.

 
The Urquhart Castle was protected by the Loch on one side and a ditch-and-drawbridge fortification on the other side.

One final picture, below, shows what you can miss if you don't look around the corner. Our hotel in Inverness was on a busy road along the Loch, without too much else in terms of walkable destinations - or so we thought. I took a brief walk after dinner, and 500 yards further up the road and around a corner was this picturesque little hamlet with a warm and friendly pub.

Tomorrow we're off to Edinburgh!

Interesting VacaKen Sidebar, Entry Three:

The best places in Europe to find a free bathroom (most require a small fee or a tip to the attendant or both):
American chain restaurants, like McDonald’s and Starbucks.  They are omnipresent near major tourist attractions throughout Europe.  Many are free, but at some you may need to buy something to get a bathroom pass, and in some others there is an attendant to tip (or someone pretending to be an attendant ….
Onboard your train – the bathrooms at the train station almost always require a fee, and sometimes a tip to the attendant, too
In a museum or at an attraction – most restroom facilities are free, without attendants, in places where you've already paid an admission fee to enter.
Never pass up a chance to pee for free.